Spot-board.



T. ALDRIDGE.

SPOT BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED FBBJQ, 1914.

191243470 Patented Jan.12, 1915.

WZnasezs: In venTor: fiw/MJ fl/dnye THE NORRIS PETERS C0,. PHOTC-LITHQ,WASHINGTON, D C.

THOMAS ALDRIDGE, 0F GRIFFITH, INDIANA.

SPOT-BOARD.

inseam.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

Application filed February 19,1914. Serial No.819,'7el.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS ALDRIDGE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Griffith, county of Lake, and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Spot-Boards, of whichthe following is declared to be a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to spotboards, for use in leveling or surfacingrailroad tracks, and its primary object is to provide a spotboard ofsimple and substantial construction, having novel features whereby theworkman may readily detect any unevenness in the rails of the track andalsothe degree or amount of such unevenness, in order that it may becorrected. The invention consists in the several novel featureshereinafter fully set forth and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawing furnished herewith,in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a spot board embodying asimple form of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross sectionthereof taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of the device withthe ends of the board broken away, and Fig. d is a detail side elevationlooking at the side opposite to that seen in Fig. 1, with the boardremoved.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawing, thereference numeral 10, designates a base plate which is adapted to lieupon the top of a rail 11, (see Fig. 1,) and preferably havingdownwardly projecting lugs 12, that extend down along the sides of thehead of the rail to hold the device in position thereon. Said lugs 12,may comprise the downwardly bent end portions of U shaped clips 13,riveted or otherwise secured to the base plate 10. The front end ofsaid. plate may be formed with a hand hook or loop 10 for use inhandling the device.

Secured to and extending up from the base plate 10, is a post orstandard 14: slotted lengthwise as at 15, for the reception of a bolt16, and adjustably mounted on said standard is a horizontally extendingspotting board 17, which extends at right-angles to the base andstandard. The bolt 16, extends through the board and slot of thestandard and bears a wing-nut 18, upon its threaded end; between theboard and standard is a plate or washer 19, which is secured the rail.

to the board, and between the standard and wing-nut is a washer 20,which encircles the bolt 16.

In the .upper edge of the board is a spirit level 21, for use inleveling the board, and below the bolt 16, is a pin or stud 22, whichprojects into the slot 15, for limiting the play of the board.

A notch 23 is formed in the lower edge of the board and receives thebase plate whenever the board is lowered to its lowermost position,whereby the lower edge of the board may coincide with the tread or topof The standard has linear divisions 24, for determining the height ofthe board with respect to the top or tread of the rail,

and the board is provided with a line of sight, as at 25, midway betweenits upper and lower edgesand this line of sight may be made by paintingthe upper half of the board with one color (as for instance white),while the lower half of the board may be painted with a contrastingcolor, as for instance black. The division line be tween the two colorsforms the line of sight and is located at a predetermined distance fromthe lower edge of the board (usually four inches).

The manner of using spotboards, for surfacing railroad tracks is wellknown to those skilled in the art, and in the use of a spot-board,containing the present invention, the device is placed on a rail withthe lugs of the U clips projecting down along the sides of the head ofthe rail. To observe high or low spots, the workmen employ two blocks inaddition to the spot-board, the height of each block being equal to thedistance from the line of sight 25, to the lower edge of the spottingboard 17. In taking observations, the two blocks are placed on one railat some distance apart, it being assumed that said rail is level orlying at the proper grade. The spot-board is then placed on the rail atsome distance beyond,say five to ten rail lengths beyond, and if thatrail is in alinement with the given rail, the lower edge of the boardwill coincide with the tread or top of the rail, and, the upper edges ofboth blocks and the line of sight of the spotting board will be inalinement; a person sighting across the tops of the two blocks willobserve the line of sight to be in alinement with the two blocks. If thefar rail is low, the nut on the clamp bolt is loosened, the board raiseduneating the required amount.

til the line of sight is observed to be in alinement with the tops ofthe two blocks, and the nut screwed tight. By observing the exposedportion of the scale below the board, the workman can determine how muchthe rail must be raised to bring it up to the proper level; the bottomedge of the board registers with the point on the scale indi- Thespotboard may be used in any of the other ways, known to those familiarwith this art, and when used on curved rails, where they are banked up,more or less, the level 21 may be made use of in leveling up the board.

More or less variation of the exact details of construction is possiblewithout departing from the spirit of this invention and I desire,therefore, not to limit myself to the exact form of construction shownand de scribed, but intend in the following claims to point out all ofthe invention disclosed herein.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A spot-board, comprising a base memher and a longitudinally slottedstandard secured thereto, a spotting board, having a bolt and a pinextending through said slot, said board being capable of a limitedamount of angular movement with respect to said standard, and a nut onsaid bolt for clamping said board in place on the standard, said boardbeing provided with a spirit level.

2. A spot-board comprising a board supporting base arranged to stand ona railroad rail, a standard secured thereto intermediate its ends, and acrosswise extending board mounted on said standard and verticallyadjustable thereon, formed in its lower edge for receiving said basewhen lowered to the level of a rail, and said board being painted withtwo contrasting colors to leave a line of demarkation therebetweenrunning lengthwise of the board, midway between its upper and loweredges.

PETER J. BEIRIGER, A. HADDON SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

said board having anotch'

